Aunty Who?
by pottermum
Summary: When Harry's new pants don't fit, Ginny decided it's time that they start eating 'clean'.


Harry cursed as quietly as he could when he stubbed his toe. Looking over at the bed, Ginny barely stirred. Damn, she looked so warm and inviting lying there. He wanted nothing more than to undress and climb back into bed, waking her in a way he knew she liked.

He hated the summer holidays, when the kids were all home and he had to work. He'd come home at night, hearing about all the fun they'd had that day, the friends they'd caught up with. The kids were growing up way too fast, and he was missing it all.

He went to pull up his new pants, frowning when they wouldn't do up. Two weeks ago, when Ginny had brought them, they'd fitted fine, even needing a belt to keep them snug. He'd taken them to Molly's to be taken in slightly, but this? Sure, he'd had a couple of Ministry functions since then, and indulged a bit at the Father's Day feast Molly had prepared. Then of course, there was the Honeydukes chocolates his kids had all sent him for his present. He had to eat it, for his kids sake. Then there were the nights dining out with Ron and Hermione, and then celebrating his birthday. Looks like he was paying the price now.

He sucked in his belly, struggling to do the button up. There! He let out a breath, wincing as he realised how tight things were down below. There was no way he could deal with that all day, and he didn't want to do any damage to the Potter crown jewels.

He got undressed and kicked the damn pants away. He knew what he had to do. Ginny had been on this 'clean eating' kick, and was jogging again, almost like when she was training for the Harpies. She looked better than ever, and he knew he was the envy of many for his gorgeous wife.

Tonight he would talk to her, ask her to cook him healthier meals. He'd join her in her jogs, even if it meant getting up earlier than usual. Maybe they could even convince the kids to join them, make it a family thing. Nah, who was he kidding. Their kids were lucky to surface from their beds before nine in the morning.

One Week Later.

"Nancy, I will double your salary if you run down to the Muggle bakery across the road and get me a chocolate bun. No, a jam bun. Oh hell, get me both," said Harry desperately.

"I don't think so," said Nancy, placing his fruit salad in front of him. When he growled at her, she raised an eyebrow and handed him a fork.

Harry crossed his arms over his chest. "I won't eat it and you can't make me."

Nancy lay the fork on his desk. "You know your lovely wife owls me every afternoon. 'Did Harry eat his lunch? Nancy, I'm counting on you to help Harry with this.'

Harry picked up the fork, stabbing an innocent piece of pineapple. "We don't need to tell her, do we?"

Nancy shot him a look that even Minerva Mcgonagall would be proud of. "I'm sure you don't mean you want me to lie to your wife."

"It would just be a little white lie. You know, so we don't upset her," said Harry, eating a bite of crispy tangy apple. He took a swig of water, then continued eating.

"Yes, WE certainly don't want to upset her, do WE?" huffed Nancy. "Your caring wife, who's worried about your health. Wasn't it you who approached her, asking for help? Something about some pants not fitting. Hmmm?" asked Nancy.

"Yeah, yeah, all right. No buns," said Harry, feeling guilty. Nancy was right, he had asked Ginny to help him. She had cut back her usual ten kilometre run to a five kilometre jog with him. She was cooking healthier, supporting him as she had always done.

"Well now, look at that. You've finished your fruit salad," said Nancy, approvingly.

Harry looked down in surprise. "Oh, yeah, I guess I did."

Nancy smiled as she leaned over to take the rubbish away. "Here, your wife said if you ate your salad, you could have a treat." She handed over a muesli bar, chuckling as she left.

Harry ripped the wrapper off, muttering about wives and personal assistants ganging up on him. He went to take a bite, then put it down. He wasn't even hungry any more. Sighing, he picked up his quill and pulled another file to him. He eyed the muesli bar, putting it away in his top drawer. 'Maybe later,' he thought.

He managed to get through quite a lot of files, to Nancy's pleasure, and was able to leave the office early. He flooed home, eager as always to hear what his family had been up to that day.

He inhaled delicious smells coming from the kitchen, and his stomach rumbled.

"I heard that," grinned sixteen year old James, coming out of the kitchen with a piece of treacle tart. He waved it under Harry's nose. "Guess where we were today?"

Harry almost drooled. "The Burrow?" He hoped they'd saved him a piece.

James nodded, taking a bite and making yummy noises. "Yep, Grandma was cooking all day. We certainly worked up an appetite. Played Quidditch most of the day. Uncle Ron even joined us."

Albus came out of the kitchen next, also eating a piece of treacle tart. "Mmm, so good. Oh, hi Dad."

Lily followed, with two glasses of milk. "Here," she said, handing one each to her brothers. "Hi Dad," she said, kissing his cheek. Harry saw the treacle tart crumb on the corner of her bottom lip.

"Does your mother know you're eating dessert before dinner?" he asked, amused.

His three kids exchanged looks. "Uh, we already ate,"said Al, fifteen. "Mum's eating with you." James snickered, and he and Al exchanged amused glances.

"What's going on?" asked Harry, eyes narrowing.

"Nothing Dad," said twelve year old Lily, throwing her brothers an annoyed look. "Can I come for a run with you tonight?"

"Sure love," said Harry. He flicked the crumb off her lip. "Guess you had some treacle tart today too."

"I did it for you, Dad. I didn't want to leave any pieces to tempt you. You've done really well this week. So, I ate the last piece," she said proudly.

"Way to go, Lil," said James, patting her on her shoulders.

"She took one for the team, Dad. You gotta be proud of our little Lil. She's a true Potter," grinned Al, putting his arm around her.

"Don't you mean, Trotter," taunted James, squealing like a pig as he eyed Harry's slightly rounded stomach.

Lily turned around. "James, that's mean. Dad's not a pig. He's quite good looking-"

"Thank you, sweetheart," said Harry, shooting his sons a smirk.

"-for his age, and everything," finished Lily. James and Al started to laugh.

Ginny came through the kitchen door, carrying two plates. "Harry, you're home! Just in time. Dinner's ready." She placed the plates on the table and came over to kiss him hello.

"Great, I'm starving," said Harry, removing his cloak and laying it over the couch. He went to the table and sat down. He glanced down at his plate. Ginny sat next to him, smiling as she picked up her fork.

"Uh, Gin, whats this?" he asked, forking a lump of...something?

"Tofu," said Ginny cheerfully. She speared a piece and ate it. "Delicious, and so healthy. I borrowed a cookbook from Hermione and found some great recipes. You know she did her research when her Dad had issues with his cholesterol."

Harry put it in his mouth, aware that his children were eagerly watching him. The texture was mushy and slimy, reminding Harry of the Gillyweed he ate during the Tri-Wizard tournament. He struggled to chew it, let alone swallow it.

"Try it with the salad, it's delicious. Next time I'll use it in a soup," said Ginny, unaware of Harry's struggle with eating it.

"Looks great, Dad," said James, watching his dad's face. "Pity we're so full from Grandma's Shepherd's Pie." He patted his own flat stomach appreciatively.

Harry's mouth watered. Molly's Shepherd Pie was one of his favourite things to eat.

"Grandma's teaching me to cook, Dad," said Lily, "and knit."

"Guess what we're all getting for Christmas," muttered Al, nudging James.

"Delicious, right?" asked Ginny. He smiled and nodded, his mouth full of salad and tofu. He tried but he couldn't, just couldn't, swallow it.

"I used kale in the salad, as well as avocado. Green food is really important. I'm going to try quinoa tomorrow night, or maybe cous cous. Beetroot is..." Ginny continued on, listing all the ingredients and their benefits. Harry tried to nod and smile at her without vomiting.

James and Al could see his predicament, and eventually Lily realised. "Uh Mum, I don't think-"

"Lil, don't interrupt Mum and Dad while they're eating. After all, Dad's starving," said James, trying not to laugh at Harry, who was trying not to gag.

"We'll weigh you after tea, love. It's been a week on the new diet, we can see if you've lost any weight," said Ginny, finishing her meal.

"I'm sure you have, Dad," said Lily, loyally.

"If you haven't, you'll have to get stricter, Mum," said James.

Harry shot him a dirty look, somehow managing to swallow his mouthful of mush. He took a big drink of water to get the taste out. "That was great, but I'm full."

"Already? You barely ate half," said Ginny, looking at his plate.

"Maybe another bite or two," suggested Al, smirking at his dad.

"Big bites," agreed James, nudging Al.

"How about a cup of tea?" asked Ginny. She got up and went into the kitchen.

"How did you like the tofu, Dad?" grinned James, coming forward to nick a cherry tomato.

"It's the worst thing I've ever had in my mouth," said Harry. "I'll double your pocket money if one of you eat it before your Mum comes back."

James looked keen but Lily looked shocked. "Dad! That would be lying to Mum."

He sighed. Were all the women in his life so inflexible? "I like to call it protecting your Mum's feelings. She's trying so hard to help me get back in shape," said Harry.

"You're in good shape, Dad. Round is a shape, right James?" teased Al.

"Ha bloody ha," said an unamused Harry, pushing the food on his plate round and round. "Come on guys. Help your old man out and I'll take you for ice-cream later."

"Ice-cream? No-one's eating ice-cream. I've got a nice berry smoothie for dessert. Here's your tea, Harry," said Ginny.

Harry picked it up and went to take a sip. He spat it out. "Ugh, that's not bloody tea."

James and Al laughed, and even Lily giggled at the look on her dad's face.

"It's green tea, Harry. Full of anti-oxidants," said Ginny.

"Ah yes, good old Aunty Oxidant," said James.

"She's my favourite of all our Aunties," said Al.

Even Ginny giggled at that. "I just thought I'd try something different. Sorry love, I should have told you," she said.

Harry pushed the plate with the terrible tofu and the green tea away. "It's okay. I just can't eat anymore. I think I'll go and get ready for our run."

"You should let your tea settle, Harry," said Ginny.

"Let's go and weigh you, Dad," said Lily.

They all trooped upstairs to Harry and Ginny's bathroom. Harry was feeling confident when he got on the scales and the kids crowded around to read the result.

"Dad, you've gained two kilos!" cried Lily.

"What? How is that possible?" asked Ginny, looking at the number on the scale and back to Harry.

"It has to be broken. I've been good, I promise Gin," whined Harry.

"James is right. I'll have to get stricter. We'll start tomorrow with breakfast. I'll use hommus instead of butter on your toast. No more white bread, from now on it's wholemeal. And no more fried eggs."

Harry groaned as the thought of his yummy breakfasts disappeared straight out the window.

"Poor Dad," said Lily, coming over to hug him. "Oh no, my arms won't reach," she teased.

James and Al howled with laughter. Lily pulled back, giggling. "Sorry, Dad, I couldn't resist."

"Speaking of resisting, maybe we could hang your pants up, to give you a reminder of why you're doing this," suggested Ginny. She opened his wardrobe, looking for them.

"Weren't they at Grandma's," said Al. "The black ones?" Harry nodded.

"I took them to Molly's. When your Mum first got them for me, they were a bit big. I thought she could take them in a bit," said Harry.

"Harry, I took them in the day after you tried them on,"said Ginny, surprised.

"I definitely saw Nana take them in too," said James, while Al nodded.

"Um..." Everyone turned to look at Lily.

"I just thought they were a pair to practice sewing spells on. I took them in too,"giggled Lily.

"So, I'm not out of shape? I'm not putting on weight?" asked Harry, looking between Lily and Ginny.

Ginny looked at the scale, then at her sons. Al flushed and looked away, but James just smirked.

"So, no more terrible tofu. No more kale or fruit salad for lunch?" Harry asked hopefully.

Ginny shrugged, then nodded. "I guess you don't have to have them."

"Will you send a note to Nancy to let her know? She'll never believe me,"said Harry, happily.

James just shook his head. "Whipped," he said.

"So, does this mean we're not jogging?" asked Lily.

"Don't need to," sighed Harry happily. "Who's up for ice-cream?"

"Does this mean you're back on breakfast duty in the morning? Fried eggs, bacon, the works?" asked Al, hopefully.

"You bet," said Harry.

"Careful, Dad. At your age, you'll get love handles in no time," said Lily. She sighed. "Sorry about your pants, Dad."

Harry kissed the top of her head. "It's fine, sweetie."

Lily looked at Ginny. "So, no more healthy lunches and dinners?"

Ginny shook her head. "Maybe every now and then. I really wanted to try the cous cous."

"How about a kiss kiss right now," grinned Harry, taking her in his arms.

Lily screwed up her nose. "That was really lame, Dad." She left to find her brothers.

"I liked it,"said Ginny, kissing him.

Their kiss soon turned passionate. Harry pulled her down on the bed, laying over her. She ran her hands down his side. "Just checking for love handles," she said. Her hands landed on his butt and she squeezed.

"Merlin's beard," said Al, from the doorway

"It's okay Al. I was just helping your Mum get ready to go for a jog,"said Harry. Ginny giggled.

"Is that what they're calling it these days?" asked Al, arching an eyebrow. He headed back downstairs.

Ginny pushed away from Harry. "I should go and see if Lil still wants to go for a jog." She kissed him and left him on the bed. Once she had gone, he pulled the pants out from under the bed where he'd kicked them over a fortnight ago.

Ginny came downstairs. "Lil, you still want to jog? We'll have to go soon, it'll be getting dark soon."

"Okay. I'll get my runners on," said Lily. She went upstairs.

"You know what, I think I will come too," said Harry. He was dressed, ready to go.

"I'm coming for a run too, Mum," said Al. He came downstairs, all ready to go.

"Bet I can beat you," said James.

"Not a chance," scoffed Al.

"I'll just go get my runners on," said James, racing up the stairs.

The Potter's all went for a run. Ginny was the fittest. James liked to muck around, but he didn't want to be last. It became a bit of a sprint at the end between the kids, with Harry and Ginny keeping an even pace and coming in after them. They did some stretches before going inside.

"Surprise," giggled Ginny. She had managed to save a piece of the treacle tart her mum had made earlier. She'd left it on the table, along with a carafe of fresh brewed coffee just like the ones at the little cafe close by that they liked to frequent every now and then. A warming charm kept it hot.

"Woman, you are the best wife ever," growled Harry, grabbing her and kissing her.

"Whoa, Dad, impressionable kids here. We watched you eat tofu tonight. Don't make us suffer even more," grinned James. Al and Lily grinned, saying goodnight and going upstairs.

"Harry, didn't you like my tofu?" asked Ginny, surprised. She handed him a big slice of treacle tart.

" Well, not really, love. Sorry," he said, taking a bite and closing his eyes in ecstasy. "Merlin, that was almost better than sha-"

"Excuse me," said Ginny.

"Shopping!. Yes, I'm going to take you shopping tomorrow, buy you something to thank you for supporting me, like you always do," said Harry, kissing her to distract her.

"I can't believe you didn't like the tofu," mourned Ginny. "Well, I'm going to stick to the clean eating. It really makes a lot of sense, and I can use up the rest of that yummy tofu."

They sat on the couch, enjoying their coffee.

"Gin, I can honestly tell you, I never want to eat tofu again," said Harry, pulling her close to him.

Ginny moved to straddle him. Harry put his cup down, and ran his hands over her athletic body. "Mmm, found your love handles," he murmured, fondling her breasts.

"Harry?" Ginny said huskily in his ear.

"Yeah?" he replied, nuzzling her neck.

"I worry about you. You sit behind your desk most of the time these days, it's not very active," said Ginny.

"Can't we just stick to jogging. You know, 'jogging'," grinned Harry, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Is that what we're calling it these days?" said Ginny, mimicking her son.

"I think we need to go 'jogging' again. Right now, Mrs Potter," said Harry, picking her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he Apparated them up to their bedroom.

Next morning, the three Potter kids made their way to the kitchen. They found their mum there, reading the paper while their dad was making one of his famous Potter breakfasts. Bacon, sausages, eggs and hashbrowns were sizzling in frypans on the stove. Toast was piled on a plate, with a warming charm over it.

"This is more like it," said Al, rubbing his hands together.

"Smells great, Dad," said James, leaning over to sniff the frypan. Harry noticed that James was almost as tall as him. His firstborn! What happened to his cute little boy?

Lily sat next to her mum, who was still eating her porridge. "Mum, you're sticking with this clean eating?"

Ginny nodded, sipping her green tea.

"How can you eat that," said James, pointing to her bowl, "when you can smell that delicious aroma." He waved his arm draamatically in Harry's direction.

Ginny shrugged. "I can feel my cholesterol getting higher just smelling it." She grinned.

"Well, I still want to go jogging with you and Dad tonight," said Lily, grabbing a piece of toast and nibbling on it.

"I dont know, Lil. Your Dad and I already went jogging this morning," said Ginny calmly.

If any of his children had looked at Harry's face, they would have seen him going red.

He spun around, frypan in his hand. "Who's hungry?"

"Me, me," cried Lily.

"Me. I was the first one here," argued Al.

"Me first. It should go in age order," said James, bossily.

Harry quickly served Al, who happened to be closer, then James, then Lily. He plated some for himself then went to sit with his family at the table.

"So, you and Dad must have got up early,"said Lily. "To go jogging," she explained, at their flushed faces and querying looks.

"Oh yes, your Dad was up," agreed Ginny. "Early," she added, at James suspicious looks.

"So, did you jog, or did you race?" asked Lily..

"Oh, we raced. Your mum won," said Harry, trying to keep a straight face.

"Now Harry, let's give credit where it's due. You finished a close second,"said Ginny. She leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Both times."

James and Al looked suspiciously at them, while Lily went on with her breakfast.

"Why do I get the feeling we're not talking about jogging anymore," said James, looking between them.

"I don't know what you mean, dear," said Ginny, picking a bit of bacon off Harry's plate.

"Of course we're talking about jogging. I love to jog. I think your Mum and I should jog more often," grinned Harry, winking at his wife.

"I do love jogging and it's more fun doing it with your Dad than doing it alone," agreed Ginny, ignoring his amused look. "Which is why I've signed us up to do some couples classes at the gym."

"You did what?" asked Harry, putting his flavoured coffee down. "What sort of classes?"

James and Al laughed at the look on their Dad's face.

"Zumba, Pilates. Yoga. Those last two should really help your stamina. You know, for when you 'jog'," said Ginny, blowing him a kiss.

"I didn't realise there was a problem with my stamina," said Harry, looking at her.

"You're getting older, Dad. You can't run those hills like you used to," said James.

Harry eyed Ginny's breasts. "I think I do all right on the hills," he said huffily.

"Oh Harry, you do. You're great on the hills, trust me. I know they're your favourite," insisted Ginny.

I wouldn't say they're my favourite, I would say- " Suddenly Harry became aware of interested ears listening to their conversation. "Never mind." He took his plate to the sink.

"The bush. You like the bush, right Dad?" asked Al. Ginny almost choked on her tea. Lily patted her back. "Maybe tonight we can run between Grandma's and the Lovegood's? There's plenty of bush around there. Practically a forest."

"Maybe," said Ginny, her eyes gleaming at Harry. He gulped. When his wife got that look in his eye, Merlin have mercy on his body.

She picked up a sausage and bit into it. Harry almost winced.

"Mum, you shouldn't eat that," admonished Lily. "It's not really clean eating.

"Sorry Lil, sometimes the temptation is just too much," said Ginny, taking her plate to the sink.

"Sometimes it's fun to get a little bit dirty," whispered Harry in her ear.

"You can count on that, Harry. After our 'jog' tonight," grinned Ginny, whispering back.

And they did. Ginny even let Harry win.

The second time.


End file.
